At the Mpingo Conservation & Development Initiative we promote forest conservation in south-eastern Tanzania by finding and creating opportunities where local communities can benefit from sustainably managing their forests. Specifically, we:

Raise awareness about the benefits that can come from forest conservation, and

Provide tools and enhanced capacity so that communities can demand improved governance systems over their natural resources.

We are named after Mpingo, the East African Blackwood tree, is used to make clarinets and oboes, and is the medium of choice for local wood carvers. It´s dark, lustrous heartwood is one of the most valuable timbers in the world, but the tree is under threat from over-exploitation and could become commercially extinct. However it also has great potential to act as a flagship for conservation of the coastal forests and miombo woodlands of East Africa.

Confused about what you've read about the tree or the project? Click here for some instant answers.